Stramandinoli kicking goals

QUEANBEYAN’S Jessica
Stramandinoli is hoping selection in this year’s NSW/ACT under-18s side will
propel her to All Australian selection.

Stramandinoli spent
three days in Melbourne last month at the AFL Women’s Academy camp featuring
the top 22 youth girls from around the country.

As part of the program,
the 15-year-old was put through her paces in a series of fitness tests before
coaches cast their eyes over the players in action during an intra-squad match
on the final day.

The camp had been
designed as a final selection trial for the All-Australian under-16s women’s
side that will travel to New Zealand in October.

But instead players
will now have to impress at the under-18s Youth Girls National Championships in
May if they are to earn a call-up for national duties.

“They were supposed to
pick the team in Melbourne but that didn’t end up happening because they said
it was going to be too hard to choose the side they wanted,” Stramandinoli
said.

“So they’re going to
wait until the under-18s championships in May instead. A lot of the girls from
the camp are going to be there anyway so they’ll see how we go and pick from
there.”

Stramandinoli was one
of the NSW/ACT’s best at last year’s Youth Girls Championships and is a strong
chance of earning selection for the combined states side once again in 2014.

The midfielder, who
plays for Ainslie in AFL Canberra’s Youth Girls competition, was named as the club’s
best and fairest last season and also represented the ACT at the School Sport
Australia Championships in Darwin in August.